In Senate District 19, Democratic challenger Seth Goodall is a lawyer, a Richmond selectman and a member of that town's school regionalization planning committee.

Republican incumbent Paula Benoit of Phippsburg is the owner of two small businesses in Bath and serves on a variety of civic and cultural boards in Sagadahoc County. She is finishing her first term in the Senate.

Goodall is an up-and-coming politician who's already got significant local experience under his belt. He's a longtime Democratic party activist. Our endorsement goes to Benoit, who appears less beholden to her party's orthodoxies than Goodall is to his.

Benoit is a moderate Republican whose language about the many struggling families in her district reflects her party's philosophy that work is a better alternative than public assistance.

But she's also clear that current rules discourage many workers from getting off of public assistance and she wants to find a solution that would enable Mainers to become financially independent while getting a hand up when they need it.

Benoit says that government has a role to play in economic development; she just wants to see qualified people running economic development programs. Finally, she says she wants to "solve problems" in the Legislature, which is political code for working with those across the aisle. If she wins re-election, we'll be watching to see if she lives up to that promise.